Part VIII

            Orlando found himself in some sort of park. There were old trains lined up sitting on railroad tracks. Balloons were tied to a post near a caboose. There were several benches and tables scattered about the area in a random pattern. A building had a sign affixed above double doors. ‘Travel Town U.S.A.’

          “Hey!” Orlando shouted. ‘Where did Fernie go? Why had he even brought him to this place?’

          A dark shadow began to form before Orlando. The shadow bubbled, pushed out towards Orlando who carefully backed away not sure what it was. The shadow shot down towards the ground formed a dark pool and slowly rose to form Fernie.

          “We can talk here. There is no one around for miles,” Fernie said.

          “Why did you bring me here?” Orlando wanted nothing to do with Fernie. The more time he spent with him the more he thought the guy was some psycho.

          “There were too many interruptions at your house, unless you wanted me to kill your mother?” Fernie questioned with a chuckle in his voice. “I wanted you to see who Maxwell really was. I wanted you to see him in action.”

          With a spin on his heel Fernie turned around giving his back to Orlando. Fernie seemed to be looking at something in the distance.

          Orlalndo only saw hills, there was nothing.

          “He’s up there.” Fernie said.

          “There is nothing here. No one is here. Take me home.” Orlando wasn’t even dressed. He was standing in his pajamas and he was barefoot. How was he going to make his way back home? He didn’t even know where he was.

          Fernie turned back around with an irritated look on his face, “Didn’t you hear what I said? He’s up there!” Fenie strode over to where Orlando stood. “Come see for yourself.”

          “No.”

          “No?” A strange look formed on Fernies face as he stared at Orlando. “No? He repeated.

          “Look, I’m not sure what is wrong with you. Maybe you got into someone’s stash of magik fix. But you need help.”

          “What I needs is for you to believe me.”

          “Why do you care if I believe you or not? What’s it to you?”

          “Take a look,” Fernie raised his hand to Orlando’s face. A yellow light emerged from his finger tips.

          “What are you doing?” Orlando asked as a strange sensation overtook him.

          “Just see.”

          Orlando didn’t want to see. He wanted to return home. Get as far away from Fernie as possible. He pushed Fernie away from him and ran towards the hills.

          He heard Fernie laughing behind him. He had not bothered to follow.

          Orlando ran up the hill, there was a light in the distance. He ran towards it. He thought it would lead to someone who might be able to help him, someone who might at least have a cell phone on them.

          He heard voices as he approached the light. It was a camp ground. A blue fire burned in a pit, in the center of the blue fire was a yellow light that dimmed as Orlando approached. He ducked down behind the bushes.

          Maxwell stood at the far end of the camp. A tent near him, Orlando watched as Maxwell entered the tent. He was talking to someone but Orlando could not see who. The light from the fire pit revealed shadows of the ones who were inside the tent. There were two others in the tent with Maxwell.

          Orlando could not understand what they were speaking. He did not recognize the language. A loud shout of pain emerged from the tent.

          “Hold him down!” Someone shouted in English.

          Orlando watched the tent closely. Before he knew it a large man ran from the tent. He stopped as he approached the blue fire. He held his head in his hands as he fell to his knees. The sounds he made were unlike anything Orlando had heard before. The man began to change. His body stretched and grew. The color of his skin became ashy and taunt. He was becoming a Zombie.

          “Get the collar on him before his change is complete!”

          Orlando did not recognize the other man with Maxwell. He watched as that man reached over the Zombie to fix a collar on him.

          “Put him on the streets tonight.” Maxwell said calmly as the collar activated.

          “He’s not for the fights?” The man asked. He looked disappointed.

          “Do as I tell you!”

          Orlando wanted to emerge from his hiding place he wanted to confront Maxwell. ‘Why was he creating Zombies?’ He saw Maxwell’s eyes fix on the blue fire.

          “We have to clear out of here!” He shouted.

          “Why?” The man asked as he was moving the Zombie out of camp.

          “There is a yellow light in the flames. He’s watching us.”

          “Who is watching us?” He was confused.

          Turning towards the man Maxwell shouted at him, “Don’t worry about it just clear out of here now!”

          Moving towards the fire pit he tried to put the fire out, it would not go out. Maxwell began to shout around the camp. “There is nothing you can do Fernando! No one will help you. You are just a dying Wizard. How many days do you have left now?” Laughing Maxwell fled the camp.

          “They are gone now.” Fernie appeared near Orlando. “Do you believe me now? Do you finally see?”

          “I do.”

          “Good, because we do not have much time.”

          “He said you were dying?”

          “We are all dying.”

          “What is wrong with you?”

          “He injected me with Zombie blood.”

          That was not what Orlando had expected to hear, “Is there no cure?”

          “My cure will be his death.”

          Orlando did not know what to say. He had gone from believing Fernie was some crazy psycho to now knowing that Maxwell was the psycho.

          Orlando turned to find Fernie watching him, the look in his eyes was uncertainty. Fernie slowly began to speak, “We must end this soon.”